Umaga Trends As The Bloodline Pay Homage To Late Wrestler On WWE Raw

With this past weekend marking the 13-year death anniversary of Umaga, The Bloodline's Solo Sikoa paid homage to his late uncle on the 12/5 "WWE Raw" in Washington, D.C.

Following The Usos' successful title defense against Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle, Sikoa carried out a post-match attack on Riddle, nailing The Original Bro with a Samoan Spike, a move made popular by Umaga. Sikoa wasn't done just yet as he executed Umaga's Samoan Wrecking Ball – a running hip attack to the head with Riddle leaned against the bottom turnbuckle. The second running hip attack was even more vicious as Riddle's neck was wrapped around a steel chair.   

The segment ended with Riddle being put in a neckbrace and tended to by WWE medical personnel, possibly setting up a future bout between Sikoa and Riddle. Prior to the beatdown, WWE also teased a potential one-on-one match between Sikoa and Owens, which seemed to excite many fans on social media.

Sikoa has drawn comparisons with Umaga ever since he debuted at the "NXT" Halloween Havoc premium live event in October 2021. Besides his in-ring style, fans and wrestlers alike have also compared Sikoa's mannerisms, intensity and physical attributes to that of The Samoan Bulldozer. However, AEW star Ricky Starks recently downplayed the comparisons, referring to Sikoa as "the first Solo" when a fan likened the youngest member of The Bloodline to the late Umaga.

This wasn't the first instance of Sikoa paying homage to his late uncle. Earlier this year, Sikoa donned Umaga's trademark face paint during his Falls Count Anywhere match against Boa on the 01/26 "WWE NXT" episode.

While Umaga has yet to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Rikishi believes the induction is "long overdue" and has been actively campaigning for his younger brother to be recognized for his accomplishments in a WWE ring. Umaga, at the age of 36, died of a heart attack on December 4, 2009.